Akshay Mehta founded Demoverse earlier this year in Bengaluru with an AI-powered platform designed to change how brands develop new products.
Instead of waiting until a product has already been created before asking consumers for feedback, Demoverse allows brands to involve consumers directly in the design and co-creation process.
The concept is aimed at reducing the gap between what brands build and what consumers actually want.
How Demoverse Works
Demoverse currently operates using a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model.
The startup has completed around seven closed trials with partner brands, including beauty e-commerce platform Purplle.
The idea is structurally different from traditional market research.
In a conventional process, a company may create a product and then ask potential customers whether they like it.
Demoverse instead attempts to bring consumers into the development process earlier, allowing brands to collect insights and reactions while the product is still being designed.
This could give companies more information before investing heavily in manufacturing, marketing and distribution.
First Institutional Funding
In September 2026, Demoverse raised its first institutional funding, although Mehta has not yet disclosed the size of the round.
The company is currently focused on its early trial partners and converting them into paying, recurring customers before pursuing larger institutional capital.
That approach places early customer adoption at the centre of Demoverse’s next stage.
AI and the Future of Product Development
Demoverse is part of a growing group of India-based startups building AI-native tools for brands, product teams and enterprise workflows.
As generative AI technology matures beyond general-purpose chatbots, startups are increasingly developing specialised systems for specific business processes.
For Demoverse, the opportunity lies in combining AI with direct consumer participation.
Rather than simply using AI to automate existing market research, the company is attempting to change the timing of consumer involvement in product development.
Mehta’s near-term priority remains turning the company’s early trials into recurring commercial relationships.
If successful, the model could give brands a new way to test product ideas earlier and potentially reduce the gap between product development and actual consumer demand.
